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Interview with Pickering College PARENT, Frank Ji
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- Name
Frank Ji - Child 1
JK - Gr. 3 (Female, Current Day Student) - Child 2
JK - SK (Male, Current Day Student)
Frank Ji, a parent at Pickering College, shared his perspective on the school's Quaker values, welcoming community, approachable staff, experiential learning opportunities, and strong sense of belonging. He reflected on how the school's inclusive environment and shared values have helped his children feel excited about learning while fostering meaningful connections among families that extend beyond graduation, and emphasized the importance of experiencing a school community firsthand before making an admissions decision.
Highlights from the interview
Once we got to know more about Pickering College, we definitely resonated with the values promoted at Pickering College… We definitely share the values of Quakerism that are being promoted.
My kids want to go to school. This is one of the things that they look forward to every single day. That's definitely something that, as parents, we want to see.
I would say we share common values despite our backgrounds. Everyone is very generous in donating their time, expertise, or money to the school's affairs for their children.
It's a very welcoming and interesting community of people. They come from different backgrounds, but they all share the same kind of passion and values towards the school and towards our kids.
We're very proud of what our kids have achieved at the school, and they look great on the stage.
As for the school staff, they are also very approachable. As parents, we have a great rep program for each of the grades, and I'm part of this program as well.
I haven't met a single school staff member who is either unresponsive or unhelpful. I don't think there are any exceptions here. Everyone is very friendly.
They have this new SPHERE program, which mostly runs on the farm. It's especially helpful for students who are hands-on and love to explore nature, allowing them to take full advantage of the program.
I think the wonderful thing is that you're doing what you think makes sense, what you think are good deeds. You're trying to help the community, be patient with everyone, or be inclusive of everyone around you, and then you realize, "Wow, this is really what Quakerism is all about."
This community stays with you forever. It's not just during the time when your kids are in school. By the time they graduate and become alumni, and you move on to become alumni parents, this community stays with you.
My biggest advice is that before you apply to any school or institution, take advantage of the open house to experience the school, interact with the people—not just the staff, but also the past parents—and learn firsthand what the school is really about.
